Distant thunder and the smell of hay
by SummerSun21
Summary: Race track AU. When Eren's mom gets sick he decides to become a horse trainer. He joins up with Erwin, Hanji and Armin as team Bean. It's two weeks before the biggest race of the year and Armin breaks his ankle. With no jockey to take his place what will the team do? Eren knows he has to find someone in time. But who is this short guy? And why is he looking at him like that?


Chapter one

Team Bean

**_Hey Guys just before we kick this off I just wanted to say this is my first time writing in a long time. I really hope you guys like it and I would really love some reviews. Thanks so much! - Summer _  
**

Eren Yeager had a talent: he could work with animals. Really work with them. He found that it was easy to improve their spirits and help them to work harder. The animal he worked particularly well with was horses. Most found the large animals ill-tempered and standoffish but they would flock to Eren. Why waste a talent? And so he became a horse trainer for one of the richest horse owners in the country, Erwin Smith. Now Eren didn't really like horse racing, he thought it unethical and shuddered at the thought of all the poor doped up horses. But when his mother got sick and the bills just kept stacking up, he took the role as bread winner. He found a job quickly, his gentle ways were well know and Erwin had eyes everywhere looking for the next big trainer.

So now here he was, two years later. At the young age of eighteen he was one of the most fought-over trainers. Many people had offered spots and money for his work, but Eren had gotten rather attached to his little team. Erwin was the head of the little group, and his word was law. Then there was Hanji Zoe, the best vet around. While crazy, she at least had the horses' best interest first and foremost in mind. Mikasa would tag along with the group when they traveled and would act as den mother as well as security from the press and paparazzi. She didn't have to come with the group but she insisted on tagging alone to make sure everything went smoothly. Eren especially appreciated and needed her company. One cold glare would send most people heading for the hills and this could be extraordinarily useful. After being locked into a bathroom stall by a crazy journalist who wanted the scoop on the new quarter horse yearling they had purchased, Eren no longer protested at her clinginess. Lastly there was Armin, who was the jockey. Or well, was supposed to be the jockey. In the last qualification race he had a nasty fall after the finish line and had broken his ankle. Now their horse Sonny was qualified and entered in the biggest race around, the Colossal cup. Only problem was, he had no rider.

"Fuck it," Eren sighed dropping the jockey applications he had been flipping through. He sighed again, playing the one of the papers dog eared corners. This was hopeless, how was he supposed to know if a jockey was any good or not by looking at a paper. He let his head plonk on to the desk as he rested his eyes. The thump must have been heard by Hanji because she poked her head into Eren's little office.  
"What is the matter my sweet little hay bale?!" She all but yelled at him. Eren rolled his eyes from the spot he was currently face planted into.  
He could feel her stare so he picked his head up a little and mumbled "I can't get anything from these stupid papers. How should I pick the best rider when all I have is shitty pre-cup race statistics." He whined, "None of these guys have done a big race before and this is no time for trial and error."

Hanji nodded knowingly, stroking an imaginary beard. " I think I may know just the man for Team Bean," she mused. Another eye roll from Eren; Team Bean was Hanji's bright idea for their little groups name. Once the press had heard her yelling it at them it had stuck. "I was hoping that we would find a decent jockey in time but it seems that this is our last hope!" She yelled pointing at Eren she continued. "I am going to need you and that pair of jeans that makes your ass look really nice! We have a retired jockey to go retrieve!" Eren paled. This could not be good.

He turned out to be a short man, with an even shorter temper. His name was Levi and apparently he was an old friend of Erwin and Hanji. Eren gulped as he sat in the angry man's living room. He was squished on a small couch between Hanji and Erwin, while Levi was scowling at him from across a coffee table. Hanji was bouncing happily beside him, reminiscing with the other two about high school and the old race track. Eren started to fidget; the tight jeans he was wearing were becoming uncomfortable. He didn't want to be here and his butt didn't want to be in these stupid pants. But this was for Team Bean, all of them. If his ass needed to be squished in order to win over this ex jockey then he would do it. They needed him, they needed to win.


End file.
